Teen Depression (cont.)

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

What are complications of teen depression?

Teen depression is a risk factor for developing a number of other
mental-health symptoms and disorders. Teens with depression are more likely to engage
in self-mutilation. That the number of teens who engage in that behavior is
increasing is thought to be partially due to its being promoted by trends in
music and media, including social media that features self-mutilating behaviors.
Adolescents with depression are also at risk of having poor school performance,
early pregnancy, and engaging in alcohol and other drug abuse. As adults, people
who suffered from depression during adolescence are at risk for job disruptions,
as well as family and other social upheaval during adulthood.

What is the prognosis of teen depression?

Depression can be quite chronic, in
that 85% of people who have one episode of the illness will have another one
within 15 years of the first episode. A bit over 50% of teens who are part of
research studies on depression treatment significantly improve. About 12% will
relapse in the first year, and about 60% of teens who suffer from clinical
depression will suffer with a recurrence of it during adulthood. Depression is
the leading cause of disability in the United States in people over 5 years of
age.

Adolescent depression is associated with a number of potentially
negative outcomes, including problems at school, work, in their relationships,
and with drugs. Certainly the worst potential outcome of depression, suicide is
the third leading cause of death in teens.

Can teen depression be prevented?

Attempts at prevention of teen depression tends to address both specific and
nonspecific risk factors, strengthen protective factors, and use an approach
that is appropriate for the teen's developmental level. Such programs often use
cognitive behavioral and/or interpersonal approaches, as well as family-based
prevention strategies because research shows that these interventions are the
most helpful.

The inverse of most risk factors, protective factors for teen depression
include having the involvement of supportive adults, strong family and peer
relationships, healthy coping skills, and skills in emotion regulation. Children
and adolescents of a depressed parent tend to be more resilient when the teen is
more able to focus on age-appropriate tasks in their lives and on their
relationships, as well as being able to understand their parents' illness. For
depressed parents, their children seem to be more protected from developing the
illness when the parent is able to demonstrate a commitment to parenting and to
relationships.